Under His Roof

chapter twenty-seven

Even from her room, Kimberly could hear the sounds of people mingling and chatting downstairs. She stood in front of the mirror and checked her outfit one last time. She was wearing a black dress with spaghetti straps that was tight around the chest but cinched right at the waist and then flared out, stopping mid-thigh. The neckline veered low enough to show a sizeable amount of her cleavage – which meant she'd have to be avoiding her parents – and she hoped that it didn't look too 'high school' for the gathering. She didn't want Julian to see her as a child next to his friends and colleagues.

As she descended the staircase, Kimberly saw that the house was filled. There must have been at least a hundred people there. There were people in the living room, the tv room, the backyard, and wherever else they could fit. Everyone was laughing, smiling, and just seeming to have an all around good time.

Kimberly scanned the room for Julian and spotted him near the front door, talking to two other people – an older man and older woman – who he looked genuinely delighted to see. Kimberly smiled at the image and made her way towards the kitchen. No matter how much she wanted to be, she knew that she couldn't be on Julian's arm today. Not parents were still around and watching. The best she could so was steal a quick glance or two every so often, which in all honesty was much harder than just being away from him.

She didn't know any of the people that were here (except for her parents and Julian of course) and they all seemed to know each other, so it wasn't hard for her to float through the crowd unnoticed. Kimberly approached the snack table, looking for something to eat, and was pleasantly surprised when she saw a familiar face.

She ran up to the table, tapping the woman's shoulder and praying that it was who she thought it was.

The woman turned around with a scowl on her face, but it instantly brightened when her eyes landed on Kimberly. "Oh, Kimberly!" Wendy leaned forward and gave Kimberly an air kiss on either cheek. "I'm so surprised to see you here, are you interning at the firm?"

"No, no, no!" Kimberly laughed, "I'm actually here for my parents. Since I hadn't seen them in a while, they thought it would be nice if I came here while they were staying here. And since I already know Julian, everything worked out."

Kimberly ignored that fact that it was getting surprisingly easy to lie about all things related to Julian. She wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing.

Wendy's eyebrow shot up, "Your parents?"

"Yeah." Kimberly smiled, pointing over to where her mother stood by the window, chatting it up with some unfamiliar lady. "My parents are Marcus and Leah VanStromme."

Wendy's jaw dropped when she looked from Leah to Kimberly. A smile spread across her face and she held Kimberly's shoulders tightly, really examining the girl. She finally shook her head in disbelief. "As I live and breathe! Kimberly you look so much like Marcus, I don't know how I didn't notice it sooner! I had a feeling that something was familiar about you when we first met though. Your father is a very handsome man, you know."

Kimberly laughed, "It's too bad he's taken, I hear he was quite the bachelor in his time."

Wendy gave Kimberly a knowing smile, biting her lip as she closed her eyes for a moment, probably thinking about Marcus. Kimberly shuddered a little bit at the thought of what exactly Wendy could have been thinking about that made her mouth twitch up deviously like that. Wendy put a hand on her chest, feigning sorrow as she shook her head. "He truly was. Your mother came in and swept him off his feet though. My heart breaks every time I think about it."

With an uneasy laugh, Kimberly picked up a bruschetta from the table, stuffing it in her mouth. She did not want to talk about her father's various escapades. That was probably the most mortifying thing she could think of – right after her parents catching her and Julian. Kimberly took a breath, "So...how do you know Julian so well?" she asked. "You guys seem to be pretty close.